A/N: Thanks for the comments.
HD: Thanks! Kara's entire 18 year history will be too much to fit into this story, but from this chapter onwards Kara will start start sharing more of her time away.
"I hear you have become a drone parent." Alex greeted her sister when Kara entered her house the next day.
"How?"
"Alex was messaging the kids last night. They thought it was really funny."
"I'm glad someone does. And being worried about your kid does not make you a drone parent."
"You keep telling yourself that." Alex smiled.
"I will and today I am not even going to be in the same State as Alex so what does that tell you?"
"You are over compensating?" Alex asked earning a glare from Kara. "Where is Cat sending you?"
"Technically it's not Cat who does the sending, but actually this is the other thing."
"What other thing?"
"Barry. J'onn gave me the address, so I will stop by and see if I can get him to come back."
"As much as you need a team, don't get sacked from your day job." Alex warned.
"Don't worry, there is a lead I need to chase in a neighbouring city so I'll do that on the way back." Kara said. "But seeing I am going to be out of State, can you let me know if anything happens to Alex?"
"Of course." Her sister said.
-00-
Checking the address J'onn had given her again Kara entered the run down building and looked around.
"Can I help you?" A man asked as he approached her.
"I'm looking for a friend of mine."
"Who?"
"Barry Allen."
"Down there third door on the right." He said.
"Thanks." Kara said following the directions. Reaching the door she knocked and waited for a familiar voice to say. "Come in."
Taking a breath she opened the door and entered the office.
"Hi Barry." She smiled.
"Kara? It's true? You're back?" Barry asked looking up from his desk.
"I am." She smiled taking in his grey hair and the lost look in his eyes.
"How? Where have you been?"
"Stuck on the other side of the galaxy."
"Alex always said you were alive." Barry said. "But I gave up. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. There was nothing you could do. Besides you look like you have faced your own share of problems."
"I look that good?" He said wryly.
"That's not what I meant." Kara said. "You just look, I don't know, like you've lost your optimism."
"Are you really here for smalltalk or something else?" Barry asked.
"I am here to see my friend. But if that ended with the Flash coming back I'd be happy."
"I gave up a long time ago. Even if I hadn't, we aren't needed. There are so many heroes out there." Barry said.
"There are, but they are all going their own way. The Earth needs a team to give them direction, to lead them. Just like you wanted with the League."
"The league doesn't exist any more. It was a stupid idea." Barry said.
"What happened?"
"Life. Life happened." Barry said. "Look I know that hope is your thing, but for those of us who stayed on Earth we lost it. Years of sacrifices took its toll. If you don't believe me talk to your cousin. Even if I wanted to come back, I wouldn't do any good. Besides if you need a leader, you can do it."
"Bu-"
"Kara, I've done my time. The Flash is a thing of the past."
"Okay. Well you know where I am if you change your mind." Kara said sitting opposite him.
"What are you doing?" Barry asked.
"Like I said I came to see my friend." Kara replied.
"I'm not changing my mind." Barry said.
"I know. This is just a talk between you and me."
"I'm working." Barry pointed out.
"It's lunchtime." Kara argued. "I'll treat you to ice cream. You know you love it."
"Come on, let's go." Barry conceded.
-00-
"So how about giving me an achievable task?" Kara asked as she entered Alex's house that evening.
"Barry wasn't keen?" Alex guessed.
"No. He seemed completely not himself. What happened to him? I mean it didn't sound like anything major had happened, but he was so lost, it was like he couldn't or wouldn't connect."
"Same as for everyone in the hero world. Years of losses took its toll." Alex said.
"It can't have been that bad."
"Everyone deals with things in their own way. But once you've been kicked to the ground enough time, or lost enough people in your life, it is easy to give up hope. And when that has gone it is hard to fight." Alex said. "The last few years made me appreciate you more than ever."
"I've not been here." Kara pointed out.
"Exactly. You were, still are, so full of hope. Hell you were even the Paragon of Hope." Alex said. "Your hope inspired people, brought them together. When you were gone no one could replace that. Since you have been gone so many self-proclaimed heroes have emerged and maybe some of them could challenge you in a straight fight, but none of them had the ability to inspire hope the way you do. You have faced so many losses and hardships, but you never let that define you. And that is why you will always be my hero. I just wish that I could channel some of your hope …. and your healing powers."
"You still in pain?" Kara asked frowning.
"Just a little." Alex replied.
"By which you mean a lot." Kara said. "Can I get you anything?"
"No I need to have the pain meds with food."
"Well it is nearly dinner time. In fact it is really late and the house is really quiet. Where is everyone?"
"Kara is at your place avoiding me. I think she might actually move in with you."
"My own personal chef. I could live with that." Kara smiled. "What did you do this time?"
"Why are you assuming it is my fault?"
"I know you, you will always end up taking responsibility." Kara said. "So are Alex and MJ with her?"
"They are. Good news is if they aren't here they can't complain about me working."
"No, but I can." Kara said. "You are meant to be resting."
"I am. I am sitting down." Alex said as Kara took her computer off her.
"Uh huh. Is that why Kara is ticked at you?"
"She is always mad at me. But she wasn't happy that I was working." Alex confessed.
"Which is completely understandable." The Kryptonian said.
"I thought if they knew the truth they would understand why I work at the DEO. But that doesn't seem to be the case."
"You're wrong. I think they completely get why you work at the DEO. What they don't get is why you are risking your health. You scared them, they thought they were going to lose you. They need to see you get better. So do I."
"I am better." Alex said.
"And you always told me I was a bad liar." Kara countered. "You are still limping and can't stand up straight and that only covers your physical wounds."
"Fine, but I'm getting better." Alex conceded.
"Which is not the same as being better. You need to slow down and take care of yourself."
"Says the flying hero."
"I'm healed." Kara reminded her.
"Are you?" Alex questioned. "You have barely talked about your life over the last eighteen years."
"Yes I have."
"No you haven't. I have learned more about that time from Alex than I have from you. I know that after how I treated you when you came back and the fact that I was responsible for everything means you probably don't want to talk to me but you need to talk to someone."
"I'm not not talking to punish you." Kara said. "You have so much going on right now, you don't need the extra stress."
"Kara, I know I don't always act like it, but I will always be your big sister. My job is to look after you."
"And you have." Kara said. "But right now you need help more than I do. When this is all over or when I think you are actually okay, I promise I will answer all questions you have. But you have to recover first."
"What happened on Chibnell?" Alex asked not giving up.
"How do you even know about Chibnell?" Kara asked confused.
"Alex said that seeing you get hurt on the news reminded her of Chibnell."
"Chibnell was a planet we were on for a couple of years. It wasn't a great planet, but no worse than most. We were doing a pretty good job of hiding. Then one day I saw a kid getting beaten up by, I guess they would be drug dealers. She was no older than Alex was at the time and I got really angry so I tried to stop it."
"Without powers?" Alex asked.
"You taught me how to fight and not rely on my powers." Kara reminded her. "I put that training to good use and managed to rescue the kid. Only there were more of the gang than I thought there were and they attacked me. I got beaten pretty badly."
"And Alex?"
"Our neighbour took her. She didn't see the attack, but she saw me afterwards." Kara said, her voice full of regret.
"I'm sorry." Her sister said pulling her in for a hug.
"Sometimes I feel all I do is let her down." Kara said miserably.
"She doesn't think you've let her down." Alex assured her. "You have protected her all her life. And now you've got her somewhere where she has a large family and two cousins to corrupt her."
"I am going to head over to my place and see her." Kara said standing. "Are you staying here tonight or coming over, where hopefully your daughter has cooked a nice meal?"
"I think you are overestimating teenagers." Alex said.
"I think you need to have a little faith." Kara countered. "So are you coming?"
"Sure." Alex said standing.
"Actually do you want to stay and I'll bring it back?"
"I can walk across the street." Alex said. "Besides fresh air is good for me. Also unlike your last apartment this one actually has a working elevator."
"That didn't really bother me." Kara mused as she and Alex walked towards her place.
"Well not all of us had powers." Alex said.
-00-
"Hey mom." The teenage Alex said seeing her mother enter the apartment.
"Hi. How was your day?" Kara asked hugging her.
"It was fine."
"You feeling okay?"
"I'm fine."
"You sure?" Kara asked carefully looking at her daughter.
"I said I was fine." The teenage Alex said, her tone more snappy than Kara was used to. Before Kara could say anything another stroppy teenager appeared from the kitchen.
"Mom." She said cooly before adding more enthusiastically. "Aunt Kara."
"Are you going to give me the cold shoulder all evening?" The adult Alex asked her daughter.
"By which she means she is sorry for working, she knows she should have been resting." The adult Kara cut in. "And that she won't be working again this evening." When neither her sister or her niece said anything Kara pressed. "That's what you meant wasn't it Alex?"
"Yes it was." Alex sighed.
"Okay then." The teenage Kara said. "Dinner is almost ready."
"Told you." The older Kara said smugly to her sister.
-00-
"So you want to tell me what is going on?" The older Kara asked that evening when everyone else had left.
"What do you mean?" Her daughter asked.
"You were a little snappy earlier." Kara pointed out.
"That's because you were going on."
"I asked how you were." Kara corrected. "The same thing I ask you everyday."
"I answered and you didn't believe me."
"Well you have been hiding how you feel." Kara reminded her.
"I didn't want you to worry about me more than you do already."
"My job is to worry about you."
"And who worries about you?"
"I don't need anyone to worry about me." Kara said earning a snort from her daughter.
"What is that meant to mean?" Kara asked.
"You told me so many stories of Aunt Alex and how amazing she was and how close you two were, how she looked after you and you told her everything, but I don't see it."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't talk to her."
"Yeah I do."
"Not really. And you just confessed you didn't have anyone to worry about you."
"I said I didn't need anyone to worry about me." Kara corrected. "I am pretty sure there is no way to stop your aunt worrying about me and that's the issue."
"What do you mean?"
"Your Aunt is going through a lot right now." Kara said. "I don't want to burden her."
"So I shouldn't burden you with my problems?"
"I'm your mother, you are meant to burden me with your problems."
"Who do you burden with your problems?"
"I've got used to not burdening anyone." Kara said.
"But you have someone now. Alex wants to help, but you won't let her." The teenager pressed. "When I realised how fast your ship could fly I got really worried about what happened to you."
"I know."
"Because you don't talk to Alex she is also assuming the worst."
"Which you know how?"
"Kara and MJ listened into a conversation she had with Eliza." The teenager explained. "The point is, by not talking you are causing more stress for her."